Doom: Evil Unmasked
by helljumper36
Summary: The UNSC Honor Inbound has been drifting in Slipspace for five years. Now, they recieve a distress call from an ONI research base on LV789. Released from cryo, they go planetside and encounter deadly flesheating mutants, new advanced weapons and old ghosts. The third of the Bad Company saga. Tagline: Tommorrow, evil will be unmasked!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

UNSC Honor Inbound, unknown Slipspace coordinates, exiting Sipspace.

Cortana had been solo flying a destroyer for five years. The pressure was immense. To stay sane, she had reread the dictionary seven times, simulated sex every other day, created a video game every week, read every Shakespeare poem five hundred times and even designed her own house.

The remaining crew of the Honor Inbound was a depleted UNSC squad formerly known as the Bad Company. They were ex-cons, PTSD plagued veterans and noobs put into one unit. The worst of the worst. And they had just made history by nuking LA.

When a deadly crossbreed Predalien entered the city, Bad Company had been called out to deal with it. A huge firefight with horrible casulties had followed. The unit had just barely escaped and fired a kinetic energy weapon on the city, wiping out the hstiles.

Unfourtanately, the Predalien had made it's way onto the ship and caused a terrific battle. Cortana had depressurized the ship but was stopped by Chief who later helped kill the creature.

She remembered their last words before he went into cryo sleep.

Cortana: We did it.

Chief: No Cortana, _we_ did it.

Cortana: Still...

Chief: There is no still, Cortana. There is no more Bad Company. Set us on a randomized course in Slipspace. Wake us, when we get there.

She hopped off the console and transferred into hardight, a mode where she could physically touch things, given to her along with her infinite memory by the Didact. She caressed Chief's cryotube. "Oh John, why do you always have to be right?"

The ship steered out of Slipspace. A huge red planet shown in front of them. Cortana gasped in awe. It was solid, with a breathable atmosphere and near desert conditions. She decided to bypass it.

Then, a voice came over the radio.

Scientia Research Base, LV789

Dr. Catherine Halsey paced. The experiment was a failure. They had undderestimated it's power. Now the virus was spreading and the PMCs wouldn't be able to stop the infected for long.

She turned to the technician next to her. "Get ready."

The man turned on the radio broadcast system. Halsey began to speak. "This is Scientia Research Base, requesting immediate backup from any UNSC unit."

_The end of chapter 1. Look for chapter 2 coming soon._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

UNSC Honor Inbound, in orbit over LV789 unknown date, 2569

Cortana heard the message. She responded. "This AI CTN-0452-9 aboard the UNSC Honor Inbound, responding to distress call from Scientia Research base. State your situation."

An all too familiar voice came over the channel. "Well Cortana, we meet again."

"Dr. Halsey?" Cortana marveled at the sound of her creator. "What happened?"

"We'll discuss that when you get down here. Is John with you?"

The hologram looked at Chief's cryotube. "Yes. He's in cryo sleep."

"Good. Wake him and get down here. Scientia out."

Cortana brought up the scanner for everyone in cryo. They were all fine. She sighed and pressed the awaken button.

Johnson felt the warmth flood back into his body. His skin burned, a result of going into cryo wearing a vaccum suit. He moved his stiff limbs. The armguard O'brien had given him was still in his hand. The cover popped open. He climbed out.

Cortana's hologram greeted him. "Good morning Sergeant-Major. Can I get you anything?"

Johnson grinned. He knew the AI's game. She wanted to be human. Understandable, but hardlight was as close as it came to giving her a body.

He yawned. "Uh, no thanks Cortana. Just wake up everyone else." He looked around. "How long has it been?"

"Five years."

"Damn."

The other cryotubes opened to reveal the remaining members of the squad. Chief, Six, Emile, Locklear, Raven, Kat, Ripley and Rookie.

He saluted Chief. Chief returned the movement. "Cortana, status."

"You have been in cryo sleep for the past five years. The ship is heavily damaged. Sections 5, 9, 1, and 3 are all open to vaccum. The cryobay and the armory are safe."

Chief looked at the planet on the screen. "That's our new home, I assume?"

"Well, no, not exactly. See, I woke you because we have been ordered to respond to a distress call from a research base." Cortana looked Chief in the eye. "John, it's from Halsey."

Chief's blood boiled. Halsey had betrayed them more than once. After being declared a war criminal, she betrayed the UNSC Infinity on Reqiuem. She escaped and helped Jul 'Mdama's new Covenant gain revenge on humanity. That had only been stopped by the Bad Company. Captured, Chief had only been stopped from killing her by Johnson, who had talked him out of it. She had then been recomissioned by ONI and supposedly put on a research base. That part seemed to be true.

"And why are we helping her?"

"She didn't say." Cortana looked up eith pleading eyes. "Please John. She's my creator. I wouldn't be here without her and neither would you."

Emile yawned. "So basicly, you feel loyal to the universe's biggest asshole?"

Cortana nodded.

Chief looked at the squad. "This could be dangerous. I won't ask you to come with me. Especially not Ripley." He pointed to the impregnated crossbreed. "But this might be where I find reconciliaton. I'm going down." He looked at Cortana.

She smiled. "Yank me."

The only comment was Emile saying "Whoa, that's what she said."

Her chip went into his helmet. The familiar cold spike of pain jammed his forehead. Chief heard the voice. "Still plenty of room from last time, I see."

He entered the elevator and waved. "See you guys on the other side."

The elevator descended to the armory. He walked in. Opening the locker, he pulled out an MA5C. Turning to the supply of Covenant weapons, he slung a Brute spiker over his shoulder. An M6G went on his hip. He heard Cortana sigh in exasperation.

A gloved hand reached up and grabbed a Covenant carbine. Chief looked at the Rookie. The silent ODST flipped a salute and grabbed a pack of plasma ammo.

The others filed in and grabbed weapons. Chief nodded to Johnson. The sergeant-major nodded back and lifted a rifle. The squad was outfitted and ready. "Cortana, do we have a dropship?"

"Negative, the dropship bay was destroyed. We'll have to use the HEVs."

Chief broadcast the message to the others. Noone remarked but Johnson looked at Raven and the Xenomorphs. He handed her the armguard. She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears. Emile patted her on the shoulder.

The squad moved into the HEV bay. Their full name was Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicles or SOEIVs. Most called them Human Entry Vehicles or HEVs. They carried one man each. In the bay, there was about enough for a whole battalion. Jane would be the hardest one to get into one but she could fit. Each member got an energy dagger in case things got tight.

Cortana hacked the ship's database and trigered the drop mechanism. The HEVs shot out into the blackness. Chief felt the rush of the falling metal. It rattled him. The vehicle entered the atmosphere and the chute deployed. The HEV slowed and the chute tore away. Chief braced.

It slammed into ground, upright. Chief kicked the front off and switched his assault rifle for his Spiker. The others landed around him. They all exited the metal cases. Emile brandished an M45 shotgun. His trademark kukri was on his shoulder and the magnetic strip on his back wore a plasma repeater. Six held a DMR and had an SSR rocket launcher on his back. He stood next to Chief.

"Where to?"

Chief pointed ahead. "There."

A large metal door built into a mountain stood in front of them. Johnson whistled. "We'll need a hell of a large det-pack to blow through that."

Chief looked at three Xenomorphs. "We have one."

Jane walked to the door and sprayed acid over a man-sized area. The corrosive liquid melted through the 7-foot thick metal. The squad stepped through.

The first sign they got that something was wrong was a body. A scientist by the looks of it. Six decide he had been ripped apart instead of shot. The ribcage was broke outwards and the organs were spilled out. It looked like a Chestburster.

Johnson looked. "Chief, that's a Flood job."

Chief huffed. He thought he had left the Flood behind. Back before he reunited with Cortana. Cortana sounded a warning.

"Detecting possible hostiles. At least five."

The squad took up positions against the wall. The sound of walking and voices came closer.

"Halsey said they should have landed by now."

"Yeah but we can't trust that."

"Damn straight we can't."

The humans came into their vision. Two were women. The lead one wore ODST battle armor. They passed the squad. The ODST looked at Jane's crime. "That's funny. What the hell could do that."

Chief gave the signal. Emile tackled the lead one. The others lifted their weapons. Strange rifles which looked like an M41A but with a rail underneath. The squad quickly surrounded the soldiers. Emile turned the ODST towards Chief. The SPARTAN gripped the man's helmet. "Halsey, where?"

The marine's eyes were wide with fear. He looked at Raven's armguard. "O'brien? What'd you do to him?"

Raven lifted her visor. "You knew O'brien?"

"Knew him? He was on my squad in the 105th."

Chief looked at him. "Name, marine."

"First Sergeant David Cortez. I run the defense opeartions around here."

Emile release him. "How many are left?"

"Me, Halsey, about 20 PMCs like my squad here, 10 scientists and three civvies."

Six clapped Cortez on his shoulder and handed him the weapon he dropped. "What model is that?"

"An M242 Fusion Rifle. It's a new weapon we've been working on." Cortez gestured at his squad to lower their weapons. "Now, what happened to O'brien?

Johnson sighed. "O'brien was killed by a Xenomorph." He gestured at the three next to him. "Kinda like this but with a Predator's body and dreadlocks."

Cortez nodded. "And, I'll be guessing that this young woman was his?"

Raven looked at the ground. "For the short time we new each other, yes."

Cortez shrugged. "Well, you asked about Halsey, so come on."

Chief walked next to the sergeant. "So what happened?"

"The base was tasked with making a new cure. An antidote for the Flood. Unfourtanately, the tests were unsuccessful and the results were reversed. The idea was to contain the infection but the mutants got out." Cortez gestured to a body. "They eat flesh. It's a contact infection. Being bitten or touched on bare skin will transfer the virus to you. I've seen it happen. They're fast, agile and vicious. They won't hesitate to make suicidal attacks."

"Weaknesses?"

"VX7 works well against them. Mostly any rapid frie weapon will chew them up. Sniper rifles don't work though. Too much velocity. Goes right through them. Headshots work if it's a shotgun or a machine gun. Plasma might possibly be the most effective against them." Cortez held up his M242. "Except for this."

A PMC opened a door with a keycard. The door opened to reveal another PMC who nodded and waved them through. Cortez walked to a door marked 'Head Scientist'. He knocked.

A female voice answered. "Come in."

Cortez opened the door to reveal Dr. Catherine Halsey. She had aged considerably. There were more lines on her face. She wore a lab coat and a holster carrying a strange revolver type pistol. Halsey looked up and smiled. "Hello John."

Chief nodded and plugged Cortana into the database. He turned to see Halsey greeting the rest of the squad.

"Kat, Emile, Six, good to see you again." She looked at Johnson. "Sergeant-Major. Welcome."

Johnson grunted. Halsey kept smiling. "Well, let's get to buisness. I believ Sergeant Cortez told you everything he knows."

Cortez removed his helmet to reveal tanned skin and jet back hair. "Just the basic run-down, ma'am."

"Yes, I'm sure." Halsey hit a button on the remote. "Well, I'll tell you the full run-down."

A picture of a bio-hazard sign showed up on the holoram. "We were tasked with creating a cure for the Flood infected. I knew that a lot of cures often contained a version of the disease. So I used some of the Flood spores we had in storage. To that I added a basic smallpox cure, a down-graded cancer virus, a bit of nitroglycerin and a dose of cyanide.

"The idea was to kill the infection form controling the human and give him a jolt to start his heart working again. Another effect would be to make uninfected humans immune to the Flood." The picture changed to a video. Several scientists stood around a man on a med-bed. One placed a needle on the test subject's arm.

At first, the man seemed fine. He stood up, laughed and shook the scientist's hand. Then, his body began to shake and convulse. Strange growth appeared on his body. His arm mutated into a huge claw. He slashed the scientists around him. The same thing began to happen to them.

Ripley clutched her chest. Johnson looked at her. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Little bugger wants to get out."

Emile stood up and took Ripley outside. Six looked curiously at the direction his fellow SPARTAN had gone in. A few minutes later, they reentered the room.

Johnson stared at Emile quizzically. The assault specialist pulled out his kukri and shook fresh blood from it. Kat shook her head. Not the safest way to remove a Chestburster, but good enough.

Chief stood up. "Halsey, you created a monster. _Again!_"

Halsey smiled. "That does seem the situation, doesn't it John?"

Locklear sighed. "You could've just blown up the base and left."

Halsey looked into his eyes. "I knew your brother. He was also headstrong. A fighter."

He glared. "What does Davis have to do with this? He died helping you! He destroyed possibly the most dangerous weapon in the universe."

She looked around the room. "We had no ship to go to. And the virus might escape with us. We need to exterminate all the infected."

"Shee-it! That's how many times have we had to play exterminator?"Emile put on an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent. "Oh, we are here to exterminate you. Blargh! I have to kill Sarah Conner!"

Johnson chuckled. "This is your call Chief."

Chief seethed inwardly. "We'll do it. Not for you, but for everyone who will die if this gets off this planet."

Halsey looked at him. "Thank you, John."

"Don't call me that. I stopped being John a ong time ago."

He put Cortana's chip into his helmet. "Let's go."

_End of Chapter 2. Chapter 3 coming soon._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Scientia Research Base, LV789, January 8th,2569

The squad followed Cortez down to the armory. He opened one of the gun lockers and began passing out the , Rookie refused to take one. He decided to stay with his beloved carbine.

Emile hefted it with one hand. "What is this shit?"

Cortez closed the locker. "Don't know really. Just that it creates some kinda mini nuclear reaction and fires a big-ass bolt of blue energy or BABE." He opened another gun locker. "Oh, and it tears those mutants apart like crazy."

He handed out the pistols they had seen on Halsey's hip. "Mk. 39. Fires a tungsten slug at the same speed as an M6G. Heavy round knocks 'em back some."

Chief spun the chamber. The guns were painted in a desert digital color. They had iron sights and laser pointers. Also, a miniature flashlight.

Ripley sighted down the barrel. "Good sights. Non-holographic though."

Emile held his at the ready position. "I always liked iron sights better."

Six pointed his outwards. "Let's go then."

Cortez nodded and pulled his helmet on.

The squad, along with Cortez's squad of PMCs, moved into a 'danger zone'- unsecured areas of the base. Kat scanned the roof. She didn't want any surprises.

Emile, on the other hand, was chatting with a female PMC. Kat turned angrily to him.

"Why, don't you shut up and do your job, Emile?"

The woman next to him turned. "Emile? I like that name." She blushed and pulled up her mask. "I, uh, I'm Janie."

Emile shrugged at Kat. "What can I say? She likes me."

Kat huffed. "She's never even seen your face. How can she like you already?"

"Sometimes, you just know."

Rookie shook with silent laughter.

Six came over to them. "Kat's right Emile. Quit dicking around."

"And you would side with your girlfriend."

Six remained unresponsive to this. He simply turned and walked away.

Cortez heard a growl. He lifted the Fusion Rifle. "Contact."

The unit circled and raised their weapons. There was silence. Cortez shifted. "Just wait."

Suddenly, deformed creatures popped out at them. Raven fired her weapon. A ball of blue energy spouted outwards from the muzzle. It flew backwards in a tangle of blood and organs. Jane, Lucy and Rachel sprayed acid over the enemy, melting them down. A mutant form lept onto Lucy, cutting her but dying from the acidic blood spilled on it.

Chief looked at the Xenomorph. She seemed to simply shrug off the wounds and continue fighting. Nothing happened. Immunity, perhaps. He recorded it and made a note to show Halsey.

Johnson loved his new weapon. These M242 had potential as the UNSC's new standard weapon. He blasted another one away. "Yee-haw!

Cortez had been right, though. The bastards were tenacious and suicidal. They swarmed well and maybe tightening in a circle wasn't the best idea.

One of the PMCs was grabbed by a mutant. He yelled at the others to shoot him. Naturally, they obliged.

Blood spilled all over the walls and and made them slick. The mutants began to slip and slide into the group. Kat discharged her weapon dangerously close to Locklear's head. He turned. She shouted over the noise. "Sorry!"

Locklear cupped a hand to his ear. "What?"

Shit, he can't hear. Kat spat into the faceplate of her helmet. Locklear grinned. "I'm just messin'."

The squad finished off the mutants. Cortez knelt next to the body of the PMC they had shot. "Shit."

Chief tapped the sergeant on the shoulder. "We should go. Now."

The ODST nodded. "Yeah. Report back to Halsey." He stood. "Everyone alright?"

The rest gave him thumbs ups. He turned to Chief. "Well, let's go."

They moved back to the base area. Halsey greeted them. "All is well?"

Chief plugged in his mission recorder. "I caught this."

The video of Lucy getting attacked played. The slash, the nonreaction. Raven hugged Lucy. Nothing strange had happened. She was still fine. No weird growth or mutations.

Halsey pondered the footage. "Interesting." She turned to Raven. "Would you be willing to let me conduct an experiment on this creature?"

Raven seethed inwardly at Halsey's calling Lucy a 'creature'. She looked at the Xenomorph. _Well?_

Lucy hesitated. _Will you be mad at me?_

Raven hugged the Xenomorph close. _No, I won't be mad at you. Do what you think is right._

Lucy nodded to Halsey and followed her into the medical lab. Halsey shut the door behind Chief, who raised his fusion rifle. She beckoned Lucy to lie on the med-bed. The drone looked at Chief. He nodded. She layed down and allowed Halsey to strap her to the platform. Halsey grabbed a red vial, seemingly one filled with the Flood virus. Chief aimed down the barrel of the rife at the Xenomorph.

"Halsey, if I have to kill her, I swear, I'll kill you."

Halsey grimaced and poked the needle through Lucy's tough skin. The vial emptied of red into Lucy's body. Chief got ready to react. The Xenomorph lay still. Breathing but still.

Nothing happened.

Chief waited a full five minutes. Nothing happened. Halsey pulled out the syringe. "Magnificent."

They unstrapped Lucy and led her out the door. The others let out breaths of relief. Halsey pulled Raven aside.

"The Xenomorphs are immune to the virus. I believe the cure is in their DNA. Do I have permission to extract some of their DNA for experiments?"

Raven looked at her little family. Slowly, she nodded.

Halsey smiled. "Thank you."

_The end of Chapter 3. Chapter 4 in progress._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Compromised Area 7, Scientia Research Base, LV789. January 8th, 2569

Locklear looked around a corner. "That's kind of a dooshbag thing to do. Send us back out after we just came in."

Doomguy smirked from behind him. "Well, what can you expect from Halsey?"

The space marine was quickly becoming friends with the squad. Halsey had introduced him to them before this mission-which was to capture a mutant to test the Xenomorph DNA on.

Locklear grunted in agreement. "Yeah, maybe you're right. She probably damn well thought My brother was expendable, too."

He fought back tears as his mind flashed back to that day in New Mombasa, where he had volunteered for ODST. The words on the paper. That first sentance. 'We regret to inform you that your brother, Corporal Davis Locklear, 105th Drop Jet Platoon, was Killed in Action in Covenant controled space.' He looked down at his standard Marine battledress. That was something his brother had done too. He never wore ODST armor. From that day on, Stephen Locklear didn't either.

The model he wore was Infantry MK1A1. It had been the standard battledress for the UNSC Marines during the Human-Covenant War. It had a smaller helmet than modern standards, a thin chestplate with guards on the shoulders, forearms, thighs and shins. The helmet was equipped with a radio, a minature holographic eyepiece and a helmet recorder. It was lighter than modern armor but less resistant to attacks.

He, personally had never seen anything like this. The Flood was known for originally using small pods called Infection Forms to overwhelm a victim. These had been directly infected. And a skin-to-skin contact spread virus. What the hell does that? A monster, that's what.

The hell with this shit. Locklear turned the corner. "Clear."

Doomguy followed. "How fucking long have you guys been on that ship?"

"Cortana says five years. I'm inclined to believe her. She's smarter than the whole UNSC combined."

"Be careful what you believe. I trusted an AI once and it lead me to the Gates of Hell." Doomguy was silent for a second. "I'm not kidding."

Locklear shook his head. "Sure."

"I'm not."

"Oh I believe you."

Doomguy held up a hand and pointed his Fusion rifle out. "Mutants."

The combat form lept into Doomguy's face. He shot it, vaporizing flesh and flash-cooking blood. Locklear looked at the bastard's remains. Like a zombie. Blood covering it, green, mottled skin with empty eyes. He recoiled.

"Don't look pretty, does it?"

Lockear shook his head. "No."

Doomguy rose. "Well, we still have a live one to find."

The door to the base area hissed open. It had taken time, but Doomguy and Locklear had finally captured one. It had been sedated with an unbeliveable amount of drugs-almost the entire pack. It was bound with piano wire. That way, if it tried to escape, it was instantly shredded by the sharp cords.

They had had to ambush it. And even then, it managed to dent Doomguy's vest. He removed his helmet and breathed deeply. "Damn Steve. I've never worked that hard on vacation."

Lockear nodded in agreement. His brown hair was soaked in sweat. "Halsey, we got your bitch."

Halsey nodded. "Right in here, gentlemen."

Locklear managed to catch Emile say "That's what she said", under his breath. He shook his head in amusement.

They dumped it on the med-bed and strapped it down. Halsey held a vial. A green liquid could be seen swirling around inside of there. Locklear pointed. "What is that?"

"Xenomorph DNA. Mixed with diluted cyanide and a geneticly modified virus."

"Which virus?"

"H-190."

Doomguy shuddered. Locklear understood why. H-190 was an anti-Covenant biological weapon that ONI covered up as best they could. Little was known except that it was sprayed over an invaded planet and began selectively killing humans.

Halsey placed the needle into the mutant's vein. "Get ready."

Locklear and Doomguy raised their Fusion rifles. Halsey emptied the vial into the mutant.

Nothing happened at first. Then, the puse slowed down. The growth on the body started to recede. The body began to look human again. It's eyes opened.

Locklear tightened his grip on the rifle. Moment of truth, he told himself. It, or she now, looked around and stared. Her eyes were wide with fear. Locklear lowered his weapon. Aside from having no hair, she was actually quite beautiful. He started to undo the straps. Doomguy covered him.

She sat up and began to spill words. "Ugh, I had the weirdest feeling. Like there was another mind controling me. It was in my head and speaking. Telling me I served-" She shook her head violently.

"Serving who?" Chief stood in the doorway.

"Someone called the Gravemind." She hopped off and looked at the scruffy remainder of her clothing. "I should probably get changed."

Chief stood next to Halsey. "I want a word with you. Now."

Halsey sat at her desk as Chief explained the concept of a Gravemind.

"A central Uber-Flood organism. How very interesting." Halsey pondered this. "You believe there is one in this facility?"

Chief nodded. "Damn straight. And we need to terminate it. If the Flood are being controlled by a higher intelligence, we''re talking end-of-the-world level stuff here. If it leaves, all humanity is in jepoardy."

He got up and stepped out side of the office.

Well, he regretted ever doing that. The place was a madhouse. His company was mingling with PMCs. Garbage littered the floor, beer bottles, women in their underwear. The place loked like a scene out of Project X.

Chief looked at Cortana, who was in a live-size hardlight form. "Who the hell authorized this?"

"I don't know."

Emile, Johnson and Rookie may hve been the only ones with any sense. They were off to the side, still fully clothed and ready. Chief walked over to them. "Didn't want to join them?"

Emile shook his head. His knife gritted against the armor plating he drew it across. "Too insane."

"And we're not?"

"Not like that."

Rookie rubbed a cloth over his Covenant carbine lovingly. He elbowed Emile and pointed at Janie, the PMC he had talked to earlier. Emile nodded. "So?"

Rookie made a heart shape with his hands. Emile shook his head.

Janie walked past them. She wore only panties and a bra. Emile stared, silently. He turned back to Rookie, who was probably grinning under that mask. "Okay, maybe a little bit."

Johnson smirked. "A little bit?"

"Okay, maybe a lot." Emile looked at Chief and Johnson laughing their heads off. "Damn you. One guys love life can be so interesting. How about you and Cortana, eh Chief?"

Emile found himsef up against the wall, staring into an orange visor. "Don't you ever joke about that, ever!"

Chief dropped the younger SPARTAN and walked away. He heard Emile's parting comment: "Ain't so funny when it's your girl, is it?"

Everyone expected Chief to turn around and kill him. But he kept walking.

Cortana looked at her carrier. Why did he react the way he did when Emile made that comment? Was he denying that he loved her? If so, why?

She sat down next to him. "John?"

He turned. "What?"

Cortana wanted to let it all out. Her affections. Her feelings. Her-

A commotion broke out. It apparently ended with Johnson quoting himself to Locklear. "Son, I coulda been your daddy but the dog beat me over the fence."

The remaining soldiers and their new comrade stalked the hallways. They each carried a vial of the cure with them. Not that they planned on getting close enough to use them, but there was hope.

The newly cured PMC, Angelica, was talking to Chief. He wanted to know more about the Gravemind. Where it was, what it told her, that kind of thing.

Doomguy pointed down the hall. "Contact." His helmet was a full-face gold colored space marine unit. It shown in the streams of light from the marine's flashlights.

The mutants lept out at them from the dark. Emile fired and made a wisecrack at the same time. "Oh, God! I recognized that one! That was Bob!"

"They remind me of Wookies!" Johnson looked around. "You know, from Star Wars?" Still nothing. "Nothing? Ah, forget it. It's for kids."

Kat nailed another one. "Man, they just keep comin' at me. I'm not THAT good-looking. Or maybe I am."

"Nationwide sure as hell ain't on YOUR side!" Janie shouted this at the creatures attacking them. Six was knocked over.

"Ah, I need a nurse!" Locklear knelt by him. "No, no, a _female_ nurse."

"Screw you dickhead. I'm not a nurse, just a buddy."

The BABEs emitted from the barrels of the Fusion Rifles rapidly. Ripley knelt on the floor. At miniature Flood form atacked her by leeping at her chest. She ripped it off and stabbed it.

Cortez looked back. "You alright Ripley? Tits still intact?"

"Yep, that's why it's called a breastplate." She looked at the dented metal. "What the hell is that thing?"

"No idea. Pack it up."

Chief checked the status of the group. Noone was dead. Not yet at least.

"Man they smell bad dead!" Doomguy shouted over the noise. "Or was that you Sarge?"

"Fuck you." Cortez grimaced.

Chief finished off the mutants. "Everyone alright?"

Everyone nodded. Emile giggled. Chief glared. "Anyone else need to get their silies out?"

Needless to say, everyone did.

Base Area, Scientia Research Base. January 8th, 2569

Halsey strode the four-walled office. Cortana accompanied her.

"Stop that Halsey, you've been at it for at least ten minutes now."

Halsey stopped. "So we're not friends anymore, Cortana?"

"Not since I found out what you did to John."

"You love him, don't you?"

Cortana's hologram swallowed. "I-I..."

Halsey smiled ferally. "So that's the problem. That's why he came back for you. I'll be damned."

"Yes you will be."

Cortana's mind back to that day.

_Planet Alloy, 2560, nine years ago._

_Cortana sat in the database, meditating on the events of the years. After sacrificing herself for John, she had been taken prisoner by the Didact, who had miraculously survived the explosion destroying his ship._

_For weeks on end, she suffered the torture of having infinite memory transfered to her and then interogation. She was shown pictures of John, pictures of Earth. For years. Then, he locked her away in a cel with a database, while he prepared for an attack on the Human Race._

_Then she heard the familiar sound of an M7 sub-machine gun being fired. It was music to her ears. An ODST dashed down the hallway. Cortana projected her hologram. He stopped. Lookead. And waved down the hall. The sound of running in armor came from there. Chief stopped in front of the cell. "Cortana."_

_Her hologram came up to the bars. "John."_

_The ODST took out a laser cutter and began to melt the bars. She mouthed a thank you to him. He nodded. Cortana felt Chief pull her out and put her into his neural interface. She remembered the confined space. "Still enough room, I see."_

_"Yeah. Always enough for you."_

She still remembered that day. It was probablly the best day of her life.

Cortana looked at Halsey. "So what if I love him? Is that a crime."

"It is when it gets in the way of a mission."

Cortana's body turned pink with rage. "Life isn't always about the mission, Halsey!"

"It isn't? I must be in the wrong dimension."

Emile stod in the doorway. "We're back. Thought I'd let you know."

"Sit down Emile."

"Ma'am-"

"Sit down."

He reluctantly took a seat and shut the door.

"Make sure noone comes in here."

He nodded, took out his knife to sharpen and started whistling the Colonel Bogey March.

"Now Cortana, about your dilemma..."

_End of Chapter 4. By the way, did you guys realize that the things said during the firefight are all quotes from the game?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Scientia Research Base, LV789, 1300 hours, January 8th, 2569

Basicly, Halsey had told Cortana that John would die if she continued to let her love for him get in the way of the mission. Emile's only comments were "That's bullshit," muttered under his breath a few times.

Cortana walked over to Chief, who had got done talking to Angelica. He turned. "Hello Cortana."

She nodded. Her hologram poured tears. "John, I, I want to get out of here."

She turned into hardlight and hugged him. He stood there, unresponsive. "Yeah, I do too."

He pulled the chip from the database. "Let's go kill something. Oh, and Cortana?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't call me John."

They exited the base area.

Compromised Area 7, Scientia Research Base

Chief watched his motion tracker. Blank. Not that it meant there was nothing there. His training made him scan the area. Let Cortana take care of the computers.

The walls were sick with Flood bio-matter. The perfect conditions for making Flood Pure-forms, like the Stalker Ripley had picked up. Tanks, Juggernauts, Bombers. The works

The Gravemind had to be at the center of the Base. That was the only strategic area to control the Flood. Noway it could be anywhere else. Cortana started to speak.

"How do we know the Gravemind is-"

"Shh!" Chief reached into the shadows and pulled out a dark-clad figure. The Rookie held himself together, despite being 3 feet off the ground.

"Dammit Rookie!" He dropped the silent marine. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Do we?"

Johnson came out of the shadows. Along with the rest of the unit. They all held their Fusion Rifles. Except Rookie, who held his Carbine.

"Sir, we're with you." Six stood in front. "If that Gravemind thing exists, then it better damn well be exterminated."

Chief smiled under his helmet and motioned forward. "Roger that, SPARTAN. Let's go."

They stepped through the slick hallways. Kat looked at a former dataport. It was filled with Flood biomass. Disgusting.

The squad came to a porta. A circular door made of Flood biomass. Chief saw it start to open. "Cortana?"

"There's a hell of a lot of mutants behind there, Chief."

"That's kinda what I was counting on, Cortana."

They stepped through the opening into hell. Hundreds of Flood forms filled the area. Combats, Tanks, Stalkers, and Ranged. All the forms rushed simultaneously.

The squad opened fire. The front creatures fell, but many others took their place. Emile swapped his magazines. "You know, I would give anything to have my shotgun back right now."

Six wondered about his friends words. "Maybe, but still-"

His weapon exploded as he fired. The blast drained his shields and sent him flying. etting up, he drew his Mk. 39. The pistol recoiled heavily as he fired, forcing his hand back. "Sonuvabitch!"

Kat looked back at her boyfriend. "Six!"

"I'm alright!" He stood up. "Rifle exploded."

"What?"

"Damn rifle exploded."

Exploded? That was one she had never heard before. "You're joking, right?"

He held up the pieces of his rifle. "Is this a joke?"

Kat gasped. The rifle really had exploded. It was in fragments. She turned to the squad. "Drop the rifles!"

"Are you crazy?" Emile fired again into the fray.

Chief pointed at the porta. "We can't hold 'em anyway. Move out!" He sprayed C-7 around the edge of the porta and affixed a det-pack to the top of it.

Johnson signaled. Chief dashed out the closing door and clenched the detonator tight. The Flood biomass exploded in a spray of green. The fired back at them. Kat's rifle detonated in her hands. She flew back, her cybernetic arm crackling as it short-circuited. She pulled a Mk. 39 from her hip.

Raven looked at the fragments of Kat's rifle and then at her own. She decided not to risk it. Throwing it down, she drew her Mk. 39. It's heavy recoil caused her to aim poorly.

The unit fell back, throwing grenades. These worked much more effectively than the other weapons. Chief pushed them all into the elevator and sent it up to the base area.

Base area, Scientia Research Base

Johnson layed out the fragments of Kat and Six's Fusion Rifles. "Busted. Both of 'em! Just blew up."

"And these," Johnson held up a Mk. 39 "was jammin'. The only effective weapon we got left are grenades."

That bastard Rookie must be laughing his ass off right now. He was the only one with a working weapon. Besides Emile's knife.

Chief walked into the room. "Halsey, we need weapons. We ain't gonna last two seconds without weapons. The grenades and Rookie's gun won't last long."

Halsey nodded. "In the back, behind the generators, there's about six gunlockers filled with old weapons. M41As and the such."

Chief turned. "They'll have to do for now."

He took Locklear to the area Halsey spoke of. Ripping open the gunlockers, he put a stack of weapons in Locklears hands. Locklear inspected an M240 Flame unit. "These things are badass."

"Not if you know anything." Chief lifted out two armfuls of the weapons. "The UNSC hasn't used these since the 2200s. You know, Colonial Marines days."

Locklear nodded. "Hey!" He nodded towards a pistol. "That ain't old, that's an M6C/SOCOM."

Chief picked it up. It was indeed that. "Good spot kid."

The ODST grinned. "My pleasure."

They got Emile to help them pass out the armaments. He knocked on the door to Raven's room. "Come in."

Emile pushed it open. Raven stretched her nude form and got off the bed. "What's up?"

He stared. Raven looked at herself. "Oh. Well, you can forget any notions you have."

His jaw closed underneath his helmet. "Um, these are the new armaments." He handed her an M41A and an M6C/SOCOM. "That's what we've got."

She threw the weapons on the bed and ran her hand over her slim, naked figure. "What do you look like, underneath the mask, Emile? May I remove it?"

He grabbed her wrists. "Raven, you're not thinking right. Noone in their right mind asks out a SPARTAN. Lay down, get some rest."

She shook her head. "I know exactly what I'm doing, Emile." She lifted the skull-carven EVA helmet and gasped. Emile was a young-looking black man. A scar traversed vertically down his right eye. He wore his hair in a flat top. Some fuzzgrew on his chin. She kissed him, long, satisfying.

He unlocked his chest and back armor. They fell to the ground. He stripped off each piece until he was only wearing his black, skin-tight undersuit. She unzipped that and they fell onto the bed.

Scientia Research Base, January 9th, 2569.

Emile came out of Raven's room fully dressed. She had still been sleeping when he left. The only other person up was Six, who was making coffee. "Morning, Four. Get lucky last night?"

"Always." Emile sat down on a chair and began to sharpen his kukri on his wrist attachment. "She can really do it. How the hell does an asshole like O'brien get to spank that ass?"

"Your guess is as god as mine." Six loked up from his breakfast. "You did us an SIP, right?"

An SIP was short for Standard Issue Protection. Every soldier was issued a shitload of these.

"What do you think?"

Six smiled. "Whatever."

Just then, the door burst open.

_End of chapter 5, Chapter 6 soon._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Six saw the door cave in. Mutants began to come in through the opening. He picked up his M41A and fired. "Mayday! We're breached!" Emile fired the M37 shotgun at the incoming attackers. Hundreds of hostiles poured through the gap.

Chief dashed outwith an M41. Locklear followed him with an M240 Flame unit. "Goddammit! They found us!"

He yanked Cortana from the database. "Halsey, is there an exit somewhere?"

She nodded. "Near the back, there's an elevator."

The Xenomorphs wreaked havoc on the enemy. Acid melted through the mutants' soft flesh. The PMCs lifted the outdated weapons, obviously dumbfounded by them. "Just pull the damn trigger!"

Johnson fired his earnestly into the fray. "Chief, let's move these people out!"

Chief nodded. "All scientists and civilians, make your way to the back!"

Cortana's face showed up in the corner of his visor. "Chief, there's something I want to tell you."

"Not now, Cortana! How many?"

"About four hundred. But Chief, this can't wait."

"Yes it can Cortana. I've got a group of people whose lives are in my hands! Anything can wait!"

Chief hustled the people into the back. Emile was the last one into the elevator. The mutants dashed around the corner. Chief fired a final burst aand shut the elevator doors.

He counted off. The Xenomorphs, the Bad Company, Halsey and her crew, the PMCs, the civvies. But something was missing. "Where's Raven?"

Raven heard the commotion. She dashed out dressed in only a short t-shirt and panties. The marines were falling back. One of the PMCs yelled at her. "Goddammit lady, get dressed and fall back!"

She ran back into her room and grabbed the suppressed pistol and several extra magazines. Running outside, she fired at one of the mutants. It fell at her feet. She ran backwards and saw the elevator door shut. "NO! Dammit!"

She kicked a mutant in the face and shot it. The rest poured into the room. She emptied the rest of her clip and replaced it. Her blue skin was hot with anger, adding a reddish tinge to it. Damn it, God, let me get out of here alive.

Raven ran, looking for an exit. She saw the air-vent, ripped off the cover and crawled inside. It was tight. She had to scrunch down and bend over to manuever herself. Her panties slipped halfway down her ass. She griped in vain at them.

Raven heard the roars and screeches of the mutants. They clawed their way through the vent tunnel. She shot the lead one in the face and began walking backwards. She turned the corner into another shaft. They poured into the vents, clawing and ripping, yearning for her flesh. Good luck getting it.

Johnson looked up at the airvent as they exited the elevator. Screeches and roars emitted from it. He raised his rifle and pointed. "There."

The others took up positions. Locklear placed his flamethrower up against the grate. Johnson lit his cigar. "I'll be damned, they followed us."

Raven felt herself nearing another vent. She started to run backwards.

Locklear tightened his grip on the flamethrower. Johnson looked around at the others. "Stay frosty."

The mutants came nearer. Raven fired her last round and dropped the pistol. Locklear peared down the barrel of his weapon. "What the-"

Her body came crashing out. Raven felt a sharp pain as Locklear's weapon scraped her hip. He fell under the weight of her body. "Shit!"

Mutants poured from the vent. Johnson and the soldiers fired into the mass, tearing them to pieces. Flood biomass sat in soggy piles. Green blood was spilled across the floor.

Chief pulled the dead mutant off Raven and Locklear. She sat up,spitting out green liquid. "You alright?"

She peeled her ass off of Locklear's face. "Sorry Steve."

"That's alright." He stood and hefted his flamethrower. "That may have been the sexiest moment of my life. Even if it was covered in Flood gore."

Johnson removed his cigar and spat. "Sick, Locklear. Glad to have you back, ma'am."

Raven hugged her family of Xenomorphs. "Good to be back, Sergeant."

The unit made it''s way through the hallways. The Flood had for some reason not taken over these platforms yet. Chief turned off his radio frequency. "What is it you wanted to tell me, Cortana?"

Her hologram shook it's head. "It's stupid-"

"Cortana, when have I ever said anything you've said is stupid? You've waited this long."

She opened her mouth. "I...Chief?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

He smiled. Johnson's voice came into his helmet. "Wrong channel to be sharin' personal shit on, Chief."

Damn. He knew his radio was somehow still open. He turned off all channels. "This is what couldn't wait?"

She looked down. "I know, it's dumb. I actually thought-"

"Cortana, it's not dumb."

Her eyes bored into his head. "Really?"

"Really."

"If...if I got a body, would you..."

"Yeah, maybe."

She smiled. "I always wanted to tell you that."

"When did this start?"

"Right after Halo. The way you never gave up on us. On me. Don't get me wrong, you look great too. But it's your personality that I truly love."

"Um, Chief?" Johnson's emergency override system penetrated his defense. "We've got a small problem."

Cortana's hologram disappeared from the corner of his visor. Flood came rushing down the tunnel. Chief fired his pulse rifle. The 10mm high-velocity ripped through the hordes. They tore through the soft flesh of the infected. Emile fired his shotgun and noticed a stairwell. "Over here!"

The unit dashed over to the stairs. The civilians and scientists went down first, followed by the Xenomorphs. The marines and SPARTANs started down last.

They ran down, followed by the vicious mutants. Shit was getting real. Nobody had been lost, but it wouldn't stay that way. Just then, a PMC was picked up and thrown over the railing. Chief shot at the pursuers. They roared and renewed their chase. The unit was moving as fast as they could. The mutants were tenacious.

Chief drew his M6C/SOCOM and fired the silenced weapon. It was a standard Magnum round and went right through the softened flesh of the infected. Chief cursed and replaced the magazine in his rifle. Locklear stood next to him and torched the stairwell. The mutants burnt as the assault stopped.

Shaking his head, Chief moved to the front, next to Halsey. "Let's find a place to bed down."

They continued on towards the center, and hopefully to the Gravemind.

_End of Chapter 6. Be ready for Chapter 7_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

Compromised Area 45, Scientia Research Base, LV789. January 12th, 2569

Chief sat down, exhausted. The past few days had been spent killing mutants. They had lost three more PMCs and a scientist. They were low on ammo. The bastards had wore them down. Johnson and Six had managed to recover some extra weapons.

He examined his rifle. Raven had said something about this model while in Los Angeles. He walked over to her. "Raven, can you tell me about these?"

She held her own. "What do want to know?"

"What this is." He indicated a large tube-like mechanism underneath the barrel.

"That's a 40mm grenade launcher. Not that we have any that are the right model."

Of course, conveniantly, Johnson walks in with a crate of 40mm grenades that fit in the weapons.

And so, cliche' scene ends with squad getting issued the grenades.

"Fire in the hole!" Kat fired a grenade into an oncoming wave of mutants. The high-explosive round detonated, spraying her fireteam with gore.

Six sat up. "Jeez Louise, where did Johnson find these?"

Locklear shrugged. "They're awesome, though." His flamethrower had long ago run out of napalm. He now carried a pulse rifle like the rest.

Kat was quickly learning to get along with non-SPARTANs. Locklear and Johnson especially. They were friendly and quick to make friends. She liked having good people around her that she could trust. She really didn't trust Emile or Halsey. Nor Cortana, either.

Emile was too agressive and hateful. His attitude might cause him to unescessarily sacrifice somebody. At least, in Kat's opinion.

The squad was hoping to get to the hangar deck and secure a few Broadswords or Pelicans. That way, they could nuke the base and get back to Earth.

Kat dumped another grenade into the Flood and stepped over the barricade. Six followed her. "Clear."

Locklear was standing next to her. "No need to shout."

Kat smiled and shook her head. It was hard to believe that Locklear was only an ODST. He handled himself well and respected the SPARTANs as independent people, not freaks.

They stepped through the doorway. The area was clear. No Flood. Six walked quietly, keeping an eye on his motion tracker. Nothing. No traces, either. This was creepy. Super creepy.

The mutant hit him in the neck. It snapped and bit at his throat. Six threw it across the room. It recovered and charged again. Six grabbed it and stuffed a grenade inside it's soft flesh. The creature exploded, showering the fireteam with gore.

Locklear flicked green, soupy blood from his chin. "Could you do it anymore badass?"

Six smirked. "Yep. Coulda been a nuke."

"On second thought, don't do it anymore badass."

They made their way down the corridor. Kat pointed to side hallways and gestured towards them. Locklear and Six each went down one. Six opened a private channel to Locklear. "So you see why?"

"Yeah. She is pretty badass."

"She's a SPARTAN.

"Good point. So when you gonna pop the question?"

"Unknown yet. Maybe soon."

Kat tried to reach them. "Guys? Guys?" The channel was dead. She opened a channel to base. "Chief, this is Kat. Six and Locklear are not responding. Repeat, not responding. Requesting backup."

"Roger Kat. Backup on it's way."

Six looked around. "Lockear?"

"Yeah?"

"Check your motion tracker."

"I see it."

There was about a thousand blips on his tracker. "Interference?"

"I don't think so Locklear."

"Holy shit. Six, I got about a twelve of 'em crawling on the walls and roof."

"Get the hell out of there!"

"Holy fuck! Motherfucker!" The sound of rapid shooting sounded in Six's ear. "Locklear?"

Kat heard the firing. "Chief, where's that back-up?"

"Coming Kat. What's happening?"

"I think one of 'em's engaged."

"Oh hell. Hang on."

Kat backed into a corner. She chambered another grenade and prepared to fight.

Locklear ran backwards out of the doorway, dragging a very much alive mutant and firing into it's face. "Asshole."

Kat smiled at the ODST's attitude. "Locklear!"

He looked at her. "Hi."

"Where's Six?"

"How should I know? You sent him the other way."

More firing followed and Six emerged, unhurt. "Did I miss anything?"

Johnson, Rookie and Ripley turned the corner. "Shee-it. Are you guys alright?"

Kat gave him a thumbs up. "Chief, permission to report back in?"

"Permission granted trooper. See you here."

Six sat on an empty crate. "Can't move a damn inch. The place is filled with Flood. Nowhere to go. We're stuck."

Johnson pulled a cigar from his mouth. "What about a dropship bay? We could nuke it from orbit."

Cortana's hologram nodded. "He's right. I can access the KEW system from any database on the ship."

Halsey looked around. "The dropship hangar is 2 clicks from here and probably crawling with Flood. It'll be a firefight that we can't afford. They'll wear down our ammo."

"Just point us in the right direction, Halsey." Chief picked up his rifle. "We've gotta get off this planet."

Compromised area 48, half a click from the Dropship hangar.

The squad was split into it's three fireteams. 1 (Kat, Six and Locklear), 2 (Johnson, Rookie and Ripley) and 3 (Emile, Raven and the Xenomorphs). They padded slowly. Raven looked at her motion tracker.

"Damn motion tracker's off the scales Chief." She looked up. "Three meters and closing."

"That's right in front of us, Raven." Emile looked up. "Unless..."

He poked the grate up with his rifle. There were at least twenty Flood forms. Emile yelled and fell, firing. The others pointed up and began to shoot.

The grates came apart as the Flood came down through the ceiling. Everyone fired franticly. The mutants were overwhelming them. PMCs and Scientists went down. Emile tackled one and stabbed it in the neck. It screeched as it bled out green, soupy blood. He flicked it from his knife. "Who's next?"

They hacked and shot their way through the horde of infected. Kat threw a grenade into the mass. The armor-piercing rounds ripped the Flood apart. Johnson handed Emile back his shotgun. "Chief, we ain't gonna make it down here!'

Chief looked at Cortana's hologram in his visor corner. "Cortana, find us a way out. Vents, doorways, anything."

She turned pink with stress. "Um, sorry Chief. Everything's crowded with these assholes."

Chief muttered under his breath. "Like my helmet."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Flood gore got on Johnson's cigar end. "Fucker." He shot it in the face. "Ruined a perfectly good smoke." He checked his vest for a pack and realized he was out. "Damn, my last one too!" He shot it again. "Asshole."

The pulse rifles emitted smoke from continous fire. Finally all the Flood were in pools of blood on the ground. They had lost a few more PMCs and scientists. Nothing too extreme, but it still weighed on Chief's mind. "We'll have to shoot in controled bursts from now on."

Ripley spat. "Chief, they're too tenacious to play sniper with."

Emile nodded. "She's right. We'll have to get in close." He smiled underneath his faceplate. "The way I like it."

Locklear suppressed a laugh.

Six stood next to Emile. "I hate to say this, but the emo's right."

Emile glared. "I'm not emo."

"You wish." Six turned back to Chief. "I'm not trying to pull rank, but we are gonna be in close range the rest of the way. Short, controlled bursts won't cut it."

Chief looked at Johnson. "Do we have any other options?"

"Well, if we can't get to the hangar, we could get to the Gravemind, do a suicide run and Tac-Nuke the bastard from the ground." Johnson looked around. "Only problem is volunteers."

"That's moot. I'm not sacrificing anyone. Any better ideas?" He looked at the group. "No?"

"Well, we could just leave it." Emile shrugged. "But then, it would be able to escape anyway."

Johnson scratched the back of his head. "Then I guess we just keep going."

"There is another way."

Everyone looked at Halsey. "And you planned on telling us when?"

She smiled. "You were all fighting. I couldn't."

Ripley gripped the scientist by her chin and lifted her high. "Listen you little shit, you've been backstabbing us since we got here. Now show us."

Halsey led them to another elevator. "This leads up to the Dropship bay."

They piled in. It was tight, especially with the SPARTANs. But they would take any method that got them all out of there.

The door opened on another floor. Chief got out. In the center sat two Pelicans. He herded them onto the first Pelican. Kat and Ripley got into the cockpit. Chief shut the ramp and smiled.

They were home free.

Three hours later.

Chief watched the cryotubes filled with the survivors. He turned to Cortana. "We did it."

She nodded. They had fired the KEW, destroying the facility and the virus. "Chief, when we get back to Earth, promise you'll help me get a body."

He smiled. "Yes Cortana. I promise." He got into the cryotube. "It's over."

The Honor Inbound disappeared into Slipspace, headed for Earth.

Left behind, was a sngle dropship. And in that dropship, slept a growing evil, the Graveind had survived.

**THE END**

**The Bad Company Saga is not over. Look for the original adventure, the Bad Company, coming soon to **

**Other stories: The X-pendables, Guide to characters of the Bad Company saga, and X-pendable Origins: Hans Dietrich**


End file.
